The Princess in the Tower
by Lexmarker
Summary: Azula in asylum, waiting to be healed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.

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She was staring at her mother again. And as always, her mother just stared right back at her. It was strange, to say the least. Before, whenever she was visited by the visions, the former Fire Lady was ever a picture of royal opulence. The crown sitting perfectly on her raven black tresses, not a single hair out of place on her head. Always the flowing gold and scarlet robes that she had seen her wear in her memories, the robes that her whelp of an older brother clung to and drenched in snot and tears after disappointing their father. Whenever she saw her mother, Azula would always see the same sad, loving face return her gaze.

_So why was her mother so different now?_

_There were no sumptuous threads of silk hanging from her body, only thin white cotton that seemed to be cut from one piece. The perfectly styled locks, tamed and leashed tight by pins and ties now hung freely in matted, tangled knots in front of her face. And the warm glow that seemed to permeate from her skin was now a deathly porcelain pallor, and dark rings had formed under the Queen's eyes. Only the wet sheen of shed tears seemed to break the woman's solid tone of flesh, and even her lips that were once full and painted the same ruby as fireflowers barely amounted to a sallow pink. And when Azula's gaze traveled higher, her mother's gentle gaze was replaced by haunted, glazed orbs of amber._

_Yes, her mother... she looked very different indeed..._

"It's been four years. I refuse to believe that there hasn't been any change in her condition." Zuko muttered angrily as he observed his sister from behind the cold, iron bars of her cell.

"You must understand, my Lord, nothing we've attempted has reached her at all. She hasn't spoken a word since we've moved her into her accommodations, and all our therapies and medicines have absolutely no effect." the lead physician cowered behind his clipboard, as a prim and pressed medical staff shrank behind him, not daring to meet their Fire Lord's gaze.

"This isn't the Azula I know. At least, this isn't the one that I was expecting..." Zuko said, taking a step closer until only he was only inches from the bars of the princess' holding cell. The ghostly image of his sister, sitting placidly in front of her dresser just staring into the mirror infuriated him. He nodded curtly to the guard in front of the cell door, and the soldier stepped back primly to open the metal locks.

Four years ago, Zuko would have thought anyone willingly entering a room with his unbound sister, whether flanked by guards or not, would have been mad. When he first laid eyes on his sister after the coronation, after having her transferred from the prisons where his father still languished, even after reading the reports of her behavior from all the doctors and psychiatrists that had been observing her, he still was prepared to face down a monster. An enraged dragon chained to the stone. A cackling lunatic attending to delusions of grandeur. Even spiteful, angry little sister calling him names.

Three years ago, Zuko held the same opinion as everyone else. The same opinion that her act of silence, her near-catatonia was only a ruse, something that would fall away as soon as she found herself in a position to change her odds.

Two years ago, Zuko would never have envisioned himself actually sitting next to his sister, sharing the same cushioned seat as the conqueror of Ba Sing Se, as she slowly ran her fingers through her tangled hair. Wordlessly, the King of the Fire Nation reached for a finely crafted oakpine hairbrush, and gently assisting the once-powerful crown princess in fixing her now waist-long tresses.

One year ago, Zuko had given up any hope for his sister, and only prayed that she wouldn't fade away into nothingness.

As always, Azula's hand simply fell away as soon as Zuko's gently grazed her now soft skin, guiding her delicate hand down to her lap as he began to tend to the princess.

"Zuzu... " a dry, hoarse whisper broke the silence that seemed to hang in the air, and the gazes of several eyes suddenly all came to a single point in the quarters.

Zuko himself shared in their surprise, but for some reason did not feel the same sense of shock that the attendants were experiencing.

"Yeah Azula?" He replied, his tone no longer that of the highest authority of the nation, but taken back into time when they were headstrong children so long ago.

"Thank you. Mother's hair..." Azula whispered, her lips still moving to unvoiced words as she stared with half-lidded eyes at the sight in the mirror, her brother gently combing through the inky black strands.

Zuko's face betrayed his confusion, until he himself took a look into the princess' mirror. It was strange that his first time looking at his sister, really _looking_ at his sister since the day she was defeated in Agni Kai, was in the impartial reflection of a mirror. He was surprised to see that he wasn't looking at the Fire Lord and his imprisoned sister in the glass. He saw for the briefest of moments through his sister's eyes. Their mother staring solemnly back at him and his hands as a little boy helping her arrange her hair.

His hand didn't stop combing out the tangles and knots, and no more words escaped Azula's lips.

But for the first time in four years, Zuko wept bitterly, his tears falling gently to stain the clean white cotton of his sister's robes.

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Author's note:

I think I'll write more. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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"She needs to come home."

Mai nearly dropped her chopsticks at the five little words her husband just uttered.

Dinners after his visits with Azula were always quiet, somber affairs, but of all the things the Fire Lord would have been able to say...

But, Mai was practical. The tone that Zuko used, it wasn't one that was taken lightly. At least, she had to find out exactly why this time was different than the rest.

"That's nice, dear..." the Fire Lady nodded, poking at her pheasant-veal in a sort of disinterested fashion that she had become known for.

Zuko still couldn't predict how his wife's moods played out, and her actions right now did bother him slightly. But he had to push his case, at least while he had the initiative. He cleared his throat and raised another bite to his own lips and chewed thoughtfully, watching his queen for any other words, but eventually swallowed and pressed on.

"Err... yes. I'm glad that you don't have any objections..." he tested the waters gingerly, eyes lowering as Mai's chopsticks speared a piece of meat roughly instead of being picked up by the metal sticks.

"Objections? I can hardly think of any, Zuko. This is your darling sister we're talking about here. My ~BEST~ friend who only sought to kill you once, and, of course, sent your now-pregnant wife to rot in jail... Why would I have any objections?" Mai, smiled neatly, losing interest in her meal and letting her utensils clatter uselessly on her plate. The Fire Lady snorted, and took a deep breath.

"If my Lord would please excuse me..." she said, rising from her chair.

"Mai..." Zuko said softly. "... please, you don't understand..."

Those words seemed to make the highly tense wires within Mai's head snap, and she rested her hands on the dinner table, leaning forward menacingly. Even though the formal dining table kept them thirty feet apart, Zuko could feel the Fire Lady's venom from so far away.

"No, my husband..." Mai began, stretching out the syllables on the last word. "... it's you who don't understand. It's bad enough you want to bring in Azula into this household when I'm at my most vulnerable and with her horrible track record on family and people who love you more than her. You have to think about how this would reflect on you! Do you even remember how many political promises you had to maneuver to even keep her in that hospital? Colonies, Zuko. COLONIES. The public may have been fed that cock and bull story about war reparations, and the colonies might have been given back eventually, but word travels, dear husband. Rumors... three colonies for one girl's time on the noose, time in a prison cell... there were wagers on what the third colony was for, Zuko, and I guess those who bet on trading in her time in the asylum for the Palace would be glad about this news..."

Silence filled the grand dining room, and Zuko stared wordlessly at his meal. His pride stung, but really, there were no words against what his wife just pointed out.

Mai sighed, throwing her napkin that rested on her lap, which was slowly disappearing from view due to her growing belly, on to the table. Her eyes seemed to soften, but there was still an edge in her voice. "Do what you want, my Lord. The Fire Nation's already paid for her. We've dealt with rumors before, and the people won't turn on you after five years of rule for this..." she continued, turning to the door as her attendants magically appeared at her side .

"Just remember, my husband. I only consider two people in this palace my family. One is my baby..." her hand rested on her stomach for a moment. "... and the other is the child I have growing inside me. They will always be my priority no matter who lives in this Palace..." she noted with steel in her voice. "Have a good evening, Fire Lord..."

Zuko stared down at his meal, before the words that his wife parted with finally registered in his brain. He smiled, shaking his head as he swore to keep his wife's trust as well as heal his sister's. Zuko was left with his thoughts and his pheasant-veal for the rest of the night.

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I'm still not sure if I want to make this Tyzula or not. Recently I realized I only really care about Azula as a character. Still, I like Tyzula stories well enough, as long as they're both characterized well.


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